NIGHTWING: Orpheus of Control
by John Henry Irons
Summary: The first in a series of tales that chronicles Nightwing's initial adventures when he returns to Gotham. In this story, Nightwing deals with his new relationships with previous allies and mysterious new villians.
1. Orpheus of Control Chapter 1

Author's note: This fanfiction series is inspired by Batman: The Animated Series and functions within the same universe. To avoid continuity issues, I'm starting off by writing a set of stories that runs concurrently with The New Batman Adventures, or more specifically two months after Dick's intial appearance in "Sins of the Father".  
  
A cool breeze wafted through Richard Grayson's dark hair as he entered his miniscule abode. He had been back home for a rather uneventful two months, and he was starting to slip back into his typical day-to-day routine. Not that he minded the monotony: he was one of those individuals who felt that the more consistent things became, the easier they were to accept. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, exercise, watch T.V., fight crime, and then go to sleep. His heart skipped a beat. Fight crime? Well, yeah, I guess that is a bit wierd if you think about it, but hey, he'd been doing it for over fifteen years and there was no reason to stop now. Dick knew that wasn't the real reason why he did it, but he'd rather not think about it. The more he did, the more he realized that he was becoming like Him. It wasn't intentional, but he could see how easy it was to get sucked into the physical and emotional rigors of his obsession. He could almost sympathize with the old man and feel sorry for everything that he'd been through. Almost.  
  
Dick quickly realized that he was getting sentimental about the matter and decided to stop thinking about it completely. He quickly diverted his mind to the vast array of communications devices that he had installed in a room of his loft, which he lovingly dubbed "The Monitor Room" after a concept in one of his favorite pieces of fiction. A speaker in one corner was blaring police radio channel while multiple monitors were quickly scrolling the news and large volumes of information in the other. Books, computers, periodicals, newspapers, microscopes, and a wide variety of other media and instruments were strewn across his desk and the floor of the Monitor Room. There seemed to be little activity tonight, which was unusual. He decided to pop in the microwave dinner and watch the news. Dick was getting pretty frustrated with news reporting these days, especially with all of the sensationalized stories that seemed to be told for entertainment and shock value rather than to provide factual content, but it still helped him keep abreast of what was going on in a world that he otherwise almost completely isolated himself from.  
  
"... and the Penguin once again was not found to be connected to the series of crimes, despite allegations to the contrary put forth by GCPD Commissioner James Gordon and other top-ranking police officials. In other news, the Gotham jobless rate has increased to 5.8%, which analyists attribute to the faltering economy due to the re- this just in, a hostage situation has arisen in downtown gotham where top executives at Vance Laboratories have been held captive inside their own forty-story building in downtown Gotham. Citizens are warned to stay away from the area, as several officers have already died attempting to approach the building. The criminals are demanding ten million dollars for the release of the executives, and threatened that they would kill them if they detected any breaches in the building's security system or were not paid by the following morning. Mayor Hamilton Hill offered the following comments on..."  
  
Dick didn't linger to listen to the remainder of the report; he was already heading toward the enclosure that electronically analyzed his handprint before revealing his costume. As he leaped onto his motorcycle and revved the engine, he grinned. Tonight was going to be fun. 


	2. Orpheus of Control Chapter 2

As Nightwing rode toward Vance Laboratories he attempted to formulate a plan for getting in the building.  
  
"Computer. Download building schematic for Vance Laboratories, Gotham City."  
  
The computer silently began sending and recieving encrypted transmissions to the Monitor Room before displaying an architectural depection of the building, complete with red highlights depecting areas that would detect security breaches. Dick quickly scanned the roof, main entrances, and windows, all of which were completely plastered in red. Since Vance Laboratories also functioned as a research facility, he knew that they would have an outlet to dispense of liquid waste products that would be connected to a sewage system.  
  
Nightwing parked his bike in an alley around a block and a half away from the building before leaping through a manhole. As he raced through the sewer and reached the opening, he noted that somebody had already breached it to enter the complex. According to the schematic of the building, the security room was on level 32.  
  
"Great," he muttered to himself. "Using the elevator would probably let them know that I'm here, which would cost innocent lives. But its a freaking long way up."  
  
Dick panted as he used the emergency stairs to run up... and up... and up... and up. After what seemed like an eternity of running, he stopped to catch his breath before bursting into the 32nd floor. Empty hallway, white walls. Pretty boring stuff, he noted. He figured that if he found the security room, he could find out where the hostages were being held and release them without anyone knowing. Nightwing burst in the door expecting a set of burly thugs that could be easily dealt with using basic martial arts techniques.  
  
Instead, he was greeted by fully clad ninjas. He spent a moment gaping at a jet-black bodysuit that enveloped a slim and aerodymanic body. One of the ninjas wasted no time in flinging a ninja throwing star at him, which he barely avoided as he stepped forward.  
  
"Well there's something that you don't see every day." As Nightwing punched one in the gut while delivering a roundhouse kick to another, he noted that their costumes and fighting styles were unmistakably similar to those of the Society of Shadows, an organization headed by Ra's Al Ghul, which translates to "The Demon's Head". Often thought to be a myth, Ra's Al Ghul used the legendary Lazarus Pits to maintain a youthful form for centuries. Nightwing flung his own custom-made electrified projectile near the belly of one of the ninjas, making it extremely difficult to avoid. His assailant gave a shriek of pain as he fell over. A second ninja gave an angry roar and forgoed approching Nightwing cautiously for the more impassioned method of rushing forward at him in a fit of fury. Dick used the ninja's emotional turmoil to his advantage as he flipped over the ninja, and delivered a flurry of punches and kicks that left him unconcious. Wanting one to interrogate, he ran toward the third ninja and smashed him into the wall.  
  
"Tell me... what does the Society of Shadows want or need with ten million dollars?" The Society of Shadows was a very wealthy organization, and Dick wanted to find out why they made a risky attempt for some quick cash.  
  
"You will never obtain any information from me," the ninja dully chanted. He pushed Dick back and touched a device on his neck. The ninja slumped to the floor, giving an empty gaze at Dick.  
  
"Typical," sighed Nightwing. The members of the Society were so devoted that they killed themselves before they comprimised the integrity of the group, which kind of sucked. "At least I can disable the security systems and find where the hostages are being held."  
  
Not one to waste time, Dick searched the many monitors to identify any captives or potential aggressors. Now that the security system was disabled, he could eventually alert the police and let them know that they could enter, but he first wanted to ensure the safety of the hostages. He saw a wriggling mass enclosed in a bag on the 11th floor, and he headed straight for the elevators. He pressed the "Down" button to no avail.  
  
"Wierd," he thought. "Apparently disabling the security system also prevents the elevators from working." This was definately one of the strangest and nonsensical situations that he had encountered. He attached the end of a grappling hook right under the window, and jumped out. He slid down and began counting floors until he identified the 11th. He saw a searchlight briefly focus on him, but it didn't really matter now. Dick smashed the glass window into bits before leaping into the building. He darted straight for the hostage and broke the bag open. He gave a startled cry as he realized who was trapped in the bag. It was Robin. 


	3. Orpheus of Control Chapter 3

"Hey kid," grinned Dick. "Happy to see me?"  
  
"Nightwing! Why are you here?" asked Robin.  
  
"Hostage situation, apparently. Come on, we've gotta secure the release of hostages."  
  
"It's already taken care of," growled Batman, as he entered the room. Nightwing couldn't help but notice that Batman had several holes in his cape, and looked slightly beaten.  
  
"I don't understand," muttered Nightwing. "What's going on?"  
  
"We tracked members of the Society of Shadows in Gotham a couple weeks ago, and managed to deduce that they were planning some kind of stint. Since they already know our identities, Robin volunteered to wear several tracers and allowed himself to get caught so we could identify their position. While presumably you disabled the security system, I stopped the elevators to allow them only one route of escape. As soon as they realized what was going on and tried to escape through the emergency stairs, I apprehended all of them but wasn't able to procure any information."  
  
"You mean they killed themselves before you could force any info out of them," stated Nightwing.  
  
"So what's next?" asked Robin.  
  
"There's not much left we can do here. The police will be entering soon, so we should vacate the area," suggested Batman. "Nightwing: You're familiar with Ra's Al Ghul and his tactics. If you wanted to aid us in our efforts, we would accept the help."  
  
"You know I'd rather not, Batman... but I'll do it in the interest of saving lives on one condition: I follow my own rules. I'm your partner, someone to be respected and not ordered around. As long as you can cope with that, I'll help you out." Without uttering another word, Nightwing leaped out of the window and grappled to a building that was adjacent to where his bike was hidden.  
  
"So... uh... he used to be Robin, right?" asked Robin.  
  
"Yes," answered Batman.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Things changed."  
  
Robin knew that he wouldn't get any more than that out of Batman. 


	4. Orpheus of Control Chapter 4

Dick realized that he had spent at least fifteen minutes staring at that same picture of the Flying Graysons, the acrobatic group that consisted of he, his mother, and his father. He remembered back when he was a kid at Haley's Circus with his parents... the most talented child acrobat that anyone had ever seen. Life was so good, happy, and carefree. And then one day, it all ended. Tears filled his eyes as he he was reminded of the image of his parents falling to their deaths, a vision that still haunted him as clearly as the day it happened.  
  
"I could have saved them," he cried to himself.  
  
That day he swore to never let that happen to anyone else. That day he also met someone else who could share his pain: Bruce Wayne. But while Batman supported Dick's efforts as the crimefighter Robin, he failed Dick as a father. The insult was made doubly deep when Dick returned home to find that Batman had already recruited a new Robin without even asking him. Poor kid, he had no idea what he was getting into. Dick decided that peoples' lives were at stake and that Tim Drake, the second Robin, needed a more positive role model and the unconditional love and support that Dick himself lacked from Bruce as he became more obsessed with Batman. He was going to return to the Batcave. 


	5. Orpheus of Control Chapter 5

Dick noted that the Batcave seemed to have been given a makeover. It was updated with all of the latest electronic devices and equipment, but it felt much more cold and impersonal. He heard a familiar voice from the chair of the Batcomputer and spun around to greet it.  
  
"Dick!" smiled Barbara. "Glad you could join us!"  
  
"I'm here to help save lives, nothing more."  
  
Dick gave a cold stare and Barbara's smile quickly faded. They both averted their gaze from each other and remained quiet. Luckily, Tim burst in at just the right moment to break the awkward silence closely followed by Alfred Pennyworth, the man that played a large role in raising Dick and the person whom he considered to be a father or grandfather figure. Tim ran up to Dick and gave him a hi-five, which Dick responded to by shaking up Tim's scraggly hair.  
  
"What's goin' on kid?"  
  
"Not much; Bruce had to take care of some business but he's going to be heading down in a few minutes," Tim responded.  
  
"Master Dick, I do wish that you would cut that awful-looking hair," chided Alfred.  
  
"Yeah man, mullets really aren't very cool at all," chipped in Tim.  
  
"I dunno... I sort of like it," said Barbara.  
  
"Dick's hair can be discussed at a later time. Right now, we have more important things to do." Batman had dramatically entered the room and the jovial atmosphere immediately dissapated. "We know that the Society of Shadows is in town, but we're not really clear as to what their motives are. Our primary goals are to figure out what the Society of Shadows wants from Gotham, and to stop them from getting it."  
  
"Assuming that they're after anything malicious," chimed in Barbara.  
  
"They didn't hold back from killing innocent police officers for a comparatively small quantity of money; we can be fairly certain that they're up to no good."  
  
"Question: Speaking of money, what does the Ra's Al Ghul need with ten million dollars? Why go through all that trouble for such a small profit? That's nothing compared to the typical budget that they operate on," asked Dick.  
  
"Don't ask me to question the motives of a lunatic," chided Bruce.  
  
"But he's not completely a lunatic. While his main motive is pure lunacy, he thinks its perfectly rational and tries to achieve them by rational means. Either Ra's Al Ghul is strapped for cash and needs some more money, the person behind the Society of Shadows attacks really isn't Ra's Al Ghul, or Ra's has some ulterior motives going on. Tell me, given your previous experience with the Society of Shadows and Ra's Al Ghul, what seems the most likely."  
  
"He's got a point Bruce, Ra's was probably using Vance Laboratories for some other purpose," reasoned Barbara.  
  
Batman looked irritated. "Okay, then you thoroughly research Vance Laboratories and their products while Nightwing and I make a quick stop to Vance Labs."  
  
"Sounds good to me," said Nightwing.  
  
"What about me?" asked Robin.  
  
"You're doing homework," Batman sternly replied.  
  
"Hey man, fighting crime starts with fighting the ignorance in your own mind!" laughed Dick.  
  
Tim gave Dick a wierd stare.  
  
"I dunno, that's just what Alfred told me when I was a kid."  
  
Alfred beamed at Dick as Batman and Nightwing jumped into the Batmobile. Barbara was already oblivious to her surroundings, tapping away at the Batcomputer's oversized keyboard. As Tim gloomily walked up the steps of the Batcave into Wayne Manor, the Batmobile was already blazing down the highway headed for downtown Gotham. 


	6. Chapter 6

As Nightwing and Batman entered the building for the second night in a row, Nightwing made a mental note to check the computer systems of Vance Laboratories to try and find out what the Society of Shadows was looking for. He didn't get to speculate much past that, because they were greeted by two ninjas and a familiar woman fully-clad in leather. One of the ninjas ran straight for Nightwing, and without a moment's hesitation Dick flipped off of the wall and slammed his feet straight into the warrior's chest, sending the ninja reeling. A couple of well-placed punches to the ninja before he could recover and he was out cold. The other ninja trembled slightly as Batman simply gave him a cold stare, but held his ground. With an awe-inspiring leap, Batman spread his cape and practically flew in the direction of the ninja. The ninja ran toward Batman, but stumbled to the floor and gave a weak cry as Batman enveloped him in his cape. A few moments later, Batman released the ninja who was clearly unconcious.

"Talia. What a pleasant surprise," quipped Batman sarcastically. He seemed dissapointed.  
Talia was the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, and aided him in many of his nefarious plots. Her greatest weakness was probably the mutual attraction that Bruce and Talia held, which saved Batman's life on multiple occassions. She was easily one of his most dangerous foes because Batman could never really tell where her loyalties lay or what her true motives were, as her love for her father and Bruce often came into conflict. This danger was compounded by the fact that Ra's Al Ghul and Talia were aware of Batman's secret identity, and logically the rest of the Bat-clan as well.

"Hello, Beloved," Talia said lightly. She didn't seem to be too willing to share any information.

"What are you doing here?" Batman queried.

"Father's business"

"What kind of business?" asked Nightwing

.  
"Nothing wrong, I assure you. Actually, its quite the reverse: Let's just say that father is trying to correct previous mistakes"

"Then why does correcting previous mistakes involve the death of innocent men and women?" asked Batman harshly.

"Beloved, you do not understand! Father was not responsible for those attacks!" She drew up much closer to Batman, and gave him a sly stare. "I swear to you, I'm telling the truth. For your own sake, please stay out of this conflict"

Talia reached up and gave Batman a passionate kiss, and Batman seemed to instinctively embrace her and return the favor. Talia motioned to leave, and Batman did not stop her.

She whirled around and muttered, "Thank you." As she went through the door that led to the exit of the building, Nightwing began to try to follow her but Batman extended his arm in front of Dick, stopping him in mid-stride.

"Bruce, you're letting her get away"

"I believe her"

Talia whirled around and smiled at Batman. As soon as she was out of earshot, Nightwing glared angrily at Bruce.

"What was that for? Do you actually believe her"

"I planted a tracer on her," he calmly responded. "Hopefully, she'll lead us straight to Ra's Al Ghul where we can thwart whatever new scheme he's concocted"

Dick seemed considerably calmer, but he was still slightly miffed. While he should have been reassured by the tracer that Bruce planted, he had a sneaking suspicion that had the suspect been anyone else, Batman would not have let them go.

"Well, I've got the lead that I was looking for, and I've got a few other cases to work on so I'm returning to the Batcave. Need a ride?" Batman asked.

"No thanks. I think I'm going to spend some time on the Vance computer systems"

Nightwing quickly infiltrated the Tech division and cracked the password to Vance's primary database. If Vance Laboratories had something unique to offer or was involved in the strange business that had been occuring recently, it would be clearly apparent in their research schematics or budget readouts. He scanned the research schematics first, and even after cracking all of the hidden files there did not to seem to be anything that might be useful to a group like the Society of Shadows, so he checked the budget readouts. He finished scanning all of the files in the budget directory, and cracked the only hidden file that was present. After inspecting the hidden file, he noticed that Vance Laboratories recieved large payments from an unknown source on the same days that they "donated" large volumes of equipment such as vehicles and boat engines to an unidentified recipient.

After doing some more digging and cracking on the related project files, he found that the cash was coming from an individual named Enrique El Gancho, a man who was formerly accused of organizing one of the largest South American smuggling operations in the history of modern civilization. The charges were dropped when no connection was found between Enrique and the smuggling operations that had occurred. Nightwing figured that whatever the Society of Shadows wanted with Vance Laboratories started with Enrique El Gancho, and he resolved to find out what that was. Bruce had kept his own lead, so it was about time that Dick had his own.


End file.
